I always thought that owning a private island would be the ultimate luxury. Staying on one for a week comes close, and you don’t have to win the lottery. Peter Island, in the British Virgin Islands, is a 1,800-acre, one-resort island and a short boat ride away from the Beef Island Airport on Tortola. My husband and I stayed in a room that had a balcony overlooking the water, the lawns and pool. The window in the shower overlooked the marina and the enormous yachts that docked for the day. There are only 55 rooms/suites/villas on the island for a maximum of 130 people, but during our stay the resort was only half-full and consisted of mostly couples. There were a few well-behaved children that seemed to like the pool more than the ocean. Sailboats docked in the shallow bay and people swam ashore. 

With five beaches, the hardest decision every day was which one to go to. My favorite was Honeymoon Beach, where we were escorted by a Jeep and dropped off for the day. We had our own private tiki hut, a picnic lunch and a bottle of Champagne. Another highlight was watching the sunset at the top of the mountain from the comfort of colorful Adirondack chairs, wine and cheese.

There are a couple of restaurants, one fancy, one not. There was live music one night, and once we started dancing everyone else joined in. Tropical drinks do that to you.

Yes, there are water sports, a dive shop, snorkeling, sailing and a fitness center — but we didn’t do any of it. There is, however, a lovely spa with two outdoor massage huts overlooking the ocean. Post-massage, there is a hot tub carved in the mountain. The spa also has a quiet pool that no one ever uses.  

There are day trips to Virgin Gorda, Tortola, St. Thomas and St. John, but we came to do nothing, and that is exactly what we did. And nothing was never done in a more beautiful and pristine place.

     — Kimberly LaGueux, director of sales